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Oct. 16, 2001
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia volleyball team jumped out to a fast start with a win in the first game, but 25th-ranked North Carolina rallied to win the next three games in an extremely competitive 3-1 (29-31, 30-18, 34-32, 30-23) victory over the Cavaliers at University Hall. With the loss, UVa drops to 5-11 overall and 1-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. North Carolina ran its winning streak to 13 matches and, in the process, improved to 17-3 overall and 9-0 in the ACC.
Second-year middle Shannon Boyle (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) led UVa with 15 kills, nine digs, three blocks and a .394 hitting percentage. Fifth-year outside hitter Andrea Fischer (Santa Barbara, Calif./Santa Barbara) also reached double figures in kills with 12 while hitting .429. She also added three blocks. Fourth-year outside hitter Jenny Harmon (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem) led the ‘Hoos defensive effort with 18 digs and added seven kills, three service aces and two blocks. Second-year setter Abby Whittenburg (Amarillo, Texas/Amarillo) recorded a double-double with 21 assists and 15 digs, while first-year setter Lily Phillips (Phoenix, Ariz./Horizon) registered 27 assists and six digs. Second-year outside hitter Whitney Ashcraft (Yorktown, Ind./Burris) and first-year outside hitter Celeste Laborde (New Orleans, La./Academy of the Sacred Heart) both notched 12 digs with Laborde setting a career high.
Laura Greene and Nicole Reis led the Tar Heels with 18 kills apiece. Greene also totaled 19 digs for a double-double, while Reis had 10 digs to complete her double-double. Setter Eve Rackham was one kill shy of a triple-double as she totaled 52 assists, 11 digs and nine kills. Krista Buchholz added 13 kills, while Malaika Underwood and Carolina deRoeck tallied 21 and 12 digs, respectively.
The first game was close early on, but the Cavaliers took a five-point lead, 24-19, on a UNC service error. The Tar Heels rallied to pull within a point, 24-23, and eventually took a 27-26 lead. Virginia scored the next three points to take a 29-27 edge, only to see UNC knot the contest at 29-29. A kill by Fischer and a UNC attack error made the final score 31-29. In the second game, UNC hit .424 in a 30-18 victory. With the score tied at 12-12, North Carolina scored 14 of the next 16 points to seal the win. After falling behind early in the third game, the Cavaliers came back and held the lead throughout much of the stanza. Trailing 29-27, UNC rode the hitting of Reis as she connected on five kills to propel the Tar Heels to a 34-32 win in the third game. In the fourth and final game, North Carolina led throughout and posted a 30-23 victory.
The Cavaliers will look to snap their seven-match slide on Friday, October 19 when they host Florida State at 8:00 p.m. in University Hall.